Music - Last Melt-Festival started - Rain expected
After over 20 years, it's come to an end: Today, the last edition of the Melt-Festival has begun. At the former quarry site in Dessau-Roßlau, partygoers can enjoy themselves until Saturday with the likes of DJ Koze ("Pick Up"), Paula Hartmann ("Atlantis"), and the Sugababes ("Push The Button"). Some of them might even dance in wellies to the music on various stages - as the weather forecast predicts rain for the festival days.
The fact that Melt is taking place for the last time this year is mainly due to the rising costs of the Festival, as Festival Director Florian Czok told the German Press Agency. It has been a challenge for him and his team for a long time to write black numbers. Similar developments are also taking place in other countries. The younger generation buys fewer tickets but wants more comfort. "City festivals have it easier because people can easily go home or to a hotel and don't have to camp."
Czok has been co-organizing the Melt Festival on the Ferropolis site for several years. The last Melt edition will be "totally emotional" for him and his fellow organizers, he said. However, this should not be the focus in the coming days. "There will still be highlights, such as the Sleepless Floor, which hasn't been there in recent years. We can see from ticket sales that people are looking forward to it."
The festival has existed since 1997. Since 1999, the former brown coal mining area near Dessau-Roßlau with its idle excavators has served as a backdrop. At the end of May, the festival organizers announced that there would be no Melt in this summer. Before the Corona pandemic, visitor numbers were around 25,000.
- Despite the end of the annual Melt-Festival in Gräfenhainichen, music enthusiasts are still excited to witness performances by artists like DJ Koze, Paula Hartmann, and the Sugababes.
- Florian Czok, the Festival Director, shared that the rising costs of the event and the changing preferences of the younger generation have contributed to the decision to discontinue Melt.
- The Sugababes are set to perform their hit "Push The Button" during the last edition of the Melt Festival, encouraging festival-goers to dance in the rain-soaked grounds of Ferropolis.
- festival attendees might appreciate the comfort of cities like Dessau-Roßlau, which offer easy access to accommodation, making city festivals more appealing to the younger generation.
- Paula Hartmann, a talented artist from Saxony-Anhalt, will electrify audiences with her chart-topping track "Atlantis" at this year's Melt Festival.
- For Florian Czok, co-organizer of Melt since several years on the Ferropolis site, the final edition will be an emotional farewell, but he remains focused on ensuring a memorable event with highlights like the Sleepless Floor.
- The decision to cancel the Melt Festival this summer was made in late May by its organizers, who previously attracted around 25,000 visitors before the Corona pandemic.
- As the festival gets underway, Florian Czok and his team remind visitors to have leisure and enjoy every aspect of the music scene, including Saxony-Anhalt's rising talent, Florian Czok's selected mixes, and the vibrant atmosphere of the former coal mining site in Gräfenhainichen.
